The Lie in Hate
by lin4t
Summary: Naruto hated Hinata. Naruto showed no concern of the blue haired girl being bullied when saving her. Naruto showed no concern when Hinata showed signs of being beaten by her family. Naruto showed no concern when Neji was about to kill her. And Naruto did not absolutely feel dread, despair and rage when Hinata showed up to protect him and was slain by Pein. Naruto was a liar.


A/N: This is actually the first work that I have and will publish on this site though I am not new to Fanfiction Writing or to posting my work. This is a sort of AU where the effects of Naruto's childhood are more...profound especially in the romantic department. There are definitely parts I am not satisfied with but this is a 2 days work for me with proofreading and if I continue stalling I might never post it.

Summary: Naruto hated Hinata. Naruto showed no concern of the blue haired girl being bullied when saving her. Naruto showed no concern when Hinata showed signs of being beaten by her family. Naruto showed no concern that Hinata could fail by helping him in the Chunin Exams. Naruto showed no concern when Neji was about to kill her. And Naruto did not absolutely feel dread, despair and rage when Hinata showed up to protect him and was slain by Pein. Naruto was a liar.

Disclaimer: The work of Naruto is published and owned by none other than Kishimoto

* * *

 **Part 1 - The Aftermath**

Right now Naruto Uzumaki should have been celebrating.

He was not.

He had just defeated Pein who the user of the legendary Rinnegan in the bodies of six paths. He had defeated each and every Path that Pein had used and eventually found the real body with the woman named Konan.

Pein was Nagato Uzumaki.

While normally someone could not tell whether someone was part of their clan especially when said clan was effectively dead in the eyes of the word for decades but Naruto could tell. They were so similar it was stupid.

'Aside from the fact that Nagato was strap onto this bulky machine and had those chakra rods sticking all over his body and looked, no _was_ skin and bones' Naruto snorted.

No other clan in history had that red hair (Though it was an uncommon colour for someone to have even outside the clan. One can make a mistake due to that) and that level of Chakra that managed to power 6 whole bodies from that far of a distance. His Chakra levels were insane to even manage to do that with _one_ body.

Hell even Naruto would struggle to do so and he was a powerhouse in Chakra being the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi!

What more proof did he need when Nagato used his already dry Chakra Reserves to revive everyone he killed in Konoha to the point where his hair went white from the strain?; besides that whole story of being an orphan and having a legendary Dojutsu and was trained by Ero-sennin of course.

Coming back to Konoha with some minor help from Kakashi-sensei; Naruto felt joy, actual joy from seeing so many people cheering for him for saving the village.

Never once did he feel that he was accepted by Konoha despite everything he did for them and more.

He had served properly as a Genin in his early days, he had protected the village during the Oto-Suna invasion defeating Gaara.

He had brought the Godaime Hokage; Tsunade Senju back to the village for the position.

He had tracked, fought and nearly die to Sasuke Uchiha trying to bring him back to the village.

He had represented Konoha being part of the team who retrieved the Kazekage.

He was part of the later team who went against Orchimaru for a second failed attempt to regain Sasuke.

He took down Kazuku using the completed form of the Rasengan, the Rasenshuriken.

And now he took down Pein who managed to destroy most of the village with a single attack.

The thought of the attack and his battle with the man brought back memories of a certain scene he remembered and along with it a certain person he did not like to think about.

Hinata Hyuga.

Despite everything she was the only one to interfere with the battle when it was all but lost for him and stood there to protect him. He watched the weak girl he scorned when he could in the past do her best.

She was weak.

Naruto hated the weak.

A life of social isolation from his peers, from the other villagers managed to leave a distinct mark in Naruto's personality from there forth. For those he did not know, he felt apathy. For those he did not like, he felt annoyance.

And for everyone else in between he had a mask for them to see.

But Hinata Hyuga was the only one he hated.

The only one he could bring himself to hate with everything he could actively and in front of other people.

He felt so many conflicted emotions knowing it was her that was fighting then instead of him. He felt dread knowing that she was fighting for her life for him. He felt fear knowing that it was inevitable for her to lose.

He felt hopelessness when she could not even land a proper hit on him aside from that lucky shot. He felt despair when he saw her on the ground bleeding and in the mercy of Pain.

There were no words between them when she appeared to fight. There was no explanation on _why_ she was doing this and dooming herself to be killed. There was no reason for Hinata Hyuga at that time to come and help him.

And then Pein killed her.

Everything went red. There was pain, so much pain and so many emotions. Then as the Chakra of the Kyubi came to him he felt it, he _knew_ what he was feeling when he saw Hinata being stuck down.

The Kyubi's Chakra responded to only one thing.

He felt **rage**.

Skip forward the internal battle of wills between him and the Kyubi on whether the seal would be held or not with a talk with his father, the fight with the final Pain, the talk with Nagato and coming back to Konoha; he noticed something.

Hinata Hyuga was not there.

He looked, searched and nearly panicked when he could not find her in the crowd with emotions he could not identify. All while looking as if he wanted to bathe in the new-found glory he had.

Naruto had reasoned himself on why Hinata was not there with the crowd to meet the new Hero of Konoha.

She really had no reason to be there. He treated her quite badly in his opinion even from the beginning.

He used her as an excuse that first meeting since he was itching for a fight.

He used her as a confidence booster to know that someone had a worse life than him.

He used her concern at the first stage of the Chunin Exams as a way to snap himself back with reassurance.

He used her weakness in front of Neji to know that someone had more to fear than him.

It was only after an hour with him being dragged around by various people he knew and some that he did not that he found the time to search for Hinata. He went to the only place he knew he would not be disturbed which was on top of the Yondaime's head and used Sage Mode.

Sage Mode was a funny thing to use.

Aside from the fact that it made you a lot stronger, amplify your Jutsus and opened up a series of different attacks from traditional Ninjustu that was powerful; it also made you one of the most powerful sensors while using it.

Naruto in Sage Mode unlike Jiraiya was able to sense every living being in Konoha at once.

He had heard about the fight that Ero-Sennin had with Pein and how he _lost_ his entire arm due to being taken by surprise in Sage Mode. You simply know about _any_ attacks against you in Sage Mode for that to happen.

One of the Toad Elders; Fukasaku that related that injury with the fact that Ero-Sennin had not perfected Sage Mode and had been _years_ since he had used it in battle.

Naruto would not make that mistake and at the same time would not depend entirely on Sage Mode for his fights.

Back to searching for Hinata, Naruto looked at the places where she would normally train and did not find her there. She was not at the places where her team-mates were or where the other members of the 'Konoha 11' were as well.

Naruto frowned, something was wrong.

He searched the hospital areas that were set up and found her.

She was alone

And then Naruto felt that feeling of dread once again. Why was Hinata there? Surely she was just helping those injured there instead of being part of the crowd that welcomed him back in Konoha.

She was not one of the injured right?

Then Naruto remembered how she 'died'. Pein had stabbed one of his chakra rods into her side and he presumed she had died. He did not account that Nagato's revival Jutsu did not heal the injured but left the living still injured.

That meant that Hinata was still living when he went berserk with the Kyubi's Chakra.

Naruto paled at the thought of her being in the blast-zone of that event. Was she dying? How injured was she? Will she recover? What would she say to him when they next meet? Will that time be the last time he'll see her alive?

With those thoughts pounding in his head, Naruto leaped down from the Hokage Monument still in Sage Mode without regard to his own safety.

Why should he? Sage Mode pretty much protected him from most physical damage and did so while making a good crack on the ground where he landed as he ran to where Hinata was.

And in a matter of a minute he was there looking at her sleeping on a futon more pale than she usually was in uneven breaths.

Naruto crouched down to the side of her with his hand shaking as he reached out to examine her injuries. Her waist was bandaged up showing she was injured there and her jacket was unzipped not that he cared.

But one detail alarmed Naruto.

There was blood, she was bleeding or _was_ bleeding.

Naruto lost the effects of Sage Mode and his whole body began to shake though he was not moving at all at the side of Hinata.

Why was he so concerned about this girl?

She was weak.

She was not one of his precious people.

She was a stranger to him.

So why did he feel so much pain when he saw her like this on the verge of life and death as far as he knew. He should feel nothing at all that such a person with no relation to him was to die.

He should've felt no emotions when he saw Pein strike her down in front of him.

The Kyubi should've not responded at all at that moment.

' _Love breeds sacrifice…which breeds hate…then you can feel pain.'_

Those were the words that Pain, no Nagato said before everything turned red in rage and hate within him.

Why did he feel pain when Hinata 'died' then?

He felt Hate at Pein.

Why did Hinata sacrifice herself?

….Did she love him?

Did she sacrifice herself because she loved him? Why? Why would she do such a thing? He had nothing but hate her- _hate at the person who dared harmed her_. He felt nothing at all at that time- _so much hate, so much pain at her fall. Someone dared take her away from ME! They will pay in BLOOD!_

Naruto Uzumaki felt nothing but hate towards Hinata Hyuga.

But Naruto was a liar.

* * *

 **Part 2 – The First Meeting**

At the age of 6 Naruto Uzumaki knew one thing.

That he was hated by the rest of the village no matter what age due to something he did not know about. He had seen the looks that the older people in the village and they were in one word was cold.

He was looked as if he was trash-no worse than that.

He was kicked out of stores when he only wanted to look.

He was isolated from everyone else his age and never had 'friends' more than a day at best.

And most important, there were so many people ignoring his existence.

This kind of thing from what he knew had a mark on him that was quite distinct to those who knew him well enough and those who could see through the already developing mask for the 'everyday people'.

Naruto was a loner in a word. At least not willingly in the beginning, Naruto had learnt that no one wanted to even associated with him and others who seemed like it would only draw away with fake smiles and concerns before disappearing from his life.

Due to this, Naruto quickly understood not to make close bonds else you'll get hurt in the end.

It was quite sad that the closest person Naruto had in his life was the Hokage-an old man who was kind to everyone no matter what. And even the Hokage was quite distant to him only talking to him once every few months like everyone else.

Though he owed the man of placing him in the next Academy class; that alone made him slightly better than anyone else he knew. That was the reason why Naruto decided to never prank the old man unless he did something stupid towards him.

But right now Naruto was walking on one of the more deserted streets in Konoha at this time.

Due to the glared, even if Naruto wasn't as affected by it as before, Naruto preferred to be alone due to this at the same time. There was only so much that a 6 year olds could take when he decided just to avoid people on principle for now.

Wearing a red scarf and gloves with clothes that were dull with wear, Naruto walked passed one of the wooded areas that would take him back home to his apartment. At that age, he was one of the few people at his age living alone.

No one would take him in.

No one wanted to raise him.

No one wanted to associate with him.

Therefore he lived alone and learnt how to live alone without anyone taking care of him.

Despite everything, the people of Konoha weren't so cruel to starve a child to death even if they feared him. They just restrict the number of stores he could enter, restricted what kinds of things he could buy, often kick him out at random times when they feel like it under the guise of bad business and overcharged him to the point that with his Orphan Funds could only allow him to buy the cheapest items.

Otherwise known as Instant Ramen.

Of course one of the reasons why he only brought that type of item may have been due to Ichiraku Ramen being one of the _very_ few people who tolerated him more than the others.

Then he learnt the taste of Ramen and fell in love.

Instant Ramen was a way to feed himself while spending the rest of his money on Ichiraku Ramen since it was so delicious and they father and daughter pair made him feel…welcome. It was due to that that he decided to always dine there as much as he could.

Plus no one really tries to kick him out of Ichiraku Ramen when he eats.

Now after the Hokage for some reason personally told him that he going to the Academy to become a Ninja, Naruto was walking back home a bit excited to become _something_ and was given the means to be one.

The road he was on was quite isolated and not many people bothered to come through here at this time of year.

It was really a path through the forest which was sort of a short-cut for Naruto even if it takes him longer to take home using this path. It was just that he didn't need to deal with the glares when using this path.

That was why he as quite surprise that he had saw 3 bullies insult and sometimes attack a young girl his age with dark blue hair.

"Hey Hyuga girl, show us your Byakugan!"

"If you can't then get lost!"

"Your eyes are creepy..."

"You're actually a monster aren't you."

"Yeah a Byakugan monster!"

At that moment the girl broke down crying. That annoyed Naruto greatly.

"Freak!"

He was called a freak before.

"Get lost!"

He was rejected like that as well.

"No one wants you to be here!"

He was forced away with those kinds of words.

The girl tried to speak up but the bullies did not let her and she continued to be belittled and started to cry a lot even more than before.

Looking at the girl and those bullies, Naruto felt one thing and it wasn't apathy. It was annoyance at the sight. He didn't know what he was thinking but before he knew it, he punched one of the bullies shocking everyone else.

"I don't know why" he growled at them, "But you lot annoy the hell out of me!"

And with that, Naruto picked a fight for the first time in his life.

"Who the hell are you?!" one of the bullies shouted back helping up his injured fellow bully. The three of them surrounded Naruto as he stood in front of the girl. Naruto made a brave face but really he did not know how to fight.

It was something that he unfortunately did not experience since no one interacted with him to the point they didn't even fight him.

Naruto at that time was thankful for not having to need to fight.

But now there were some regrets in not trying to interact with others even if it meant picking a fight with them.

Right now he was frightened but he held a brave face and shouted back, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki" Damn he needed something more…to make him seem bigger than he was, "And I'm going to be Hokage!"

At that declaration Naruto knew that he said something wrong since the three bullies started laughing-laughing at him!

"Hokage? Like someone like you can become Hokage!" one bully taunted. This irritated Naruto quite a bit since this person was telling him he couldn't do something!

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted back.

In the following moments, Naruto and the three bullies fought each other. With both sides being…kids there wasn't much punch and it took a while. For each punch Naruto managed to get in, the bullies hit him three times in return.

And in a matter of a good 10 minutes, Naruto's face was swollen and he was bruised quite a bit from the fight before being knocked out.

The only good thing Naruto found out was that he managed to injury those bullies quite a bit as well.

"Damn I'm not done-huh? Where did you go?" Naruto wondered. Frowning, Naruto found the girl with his scarf-his _ruined_ scarf.

"I-I-….they…" the girl stuttered out but Naruto wasn't listening at all to her.

All he could think of was the scarf that was ruined. _His_ scarf that was ruined because some kids that did not know when to stop. Attacking someone was one thing but to _ruin_ the possession of others was an entirely different matter.

Their parents would probably praise them hearing they beat _him_ up and _ruined_ his stuff.

Later on, Naruto found and tracked down the three bullies which he also found to be part of the Academy in the same year as him as well. At that time Naruto was still holding a grudge and with some training in the form of pranks Naruto managed to infiltrate their homes; their rooms.

And Naruto Uzumaki made sure for them to know that messing with him was a bad idea.

What they held dear, he _ruined_ them as well just like they did with his scarf.

And the best part of that was that they couldn't pin it on him; the Hokage himself back him and that was enough to drive them out with some well place events in the Academy that any idea of being a ninja or even staying in Konoha was a good idea.

But that was later; right now Naruto was still pissed.

But looking at the girl for some reason made him less pissed. She explained with that damn stutter of what they did…not descriptive but a general outline in what they did to his scarf in general.

They didn't just have to rip it apart; no they _had_ to play with it, stretch it out, hang off it from a tree and eventually trample on it before leaving _happily_ and without any kind of punishment.

And this girl let them.

That made Naruto a hell _lot_ more pissed at her than those bullies right then and now.

"Don't worry about it" Naruto said referring to the ruined scarf though trying not to growl at the girl for what she did _not_ do, "These things happen especially in a ninja village."

With even kids being able to climb up trees and up onto buildings with reasonable ease, Naruto knew they those bullies had a pretty easy time going where they wanted to. It wasn't unusual once in a while for some ninja to run across the roofs with speeds faster than you could see.

But that was that and right now Naruto was more focused on the girl.

She had such strange eyes that Naruto couldn't help but to initially believe that she was blind…those bullies said something about Byakugan or something like that. What the hell was a Byakugan?

He felt some pity for the girl when she was called a monster.

There were those who did that to him as well but not often since their parents stop them. For a time Naruto hopped that their parents didn't want their children to hurt him. Then that happened to those who tried to play with him.

Those who talked to him.

Those who associated with him.

Those who was even stood near him!

It was infuriating for this to happen to Naruto and he didn't know what he did wrong or what those adults were thinking when they drag everyone away from him.

That was why he pitied the girl with strange eyes.

However when the girl didn't do anything to help him, that pity turned not into indifferent but to something that he would later associate with hate.

He hated that the girl didn't do anything to stop them from ruining his scarf.

He hated the girl that did nothing to help him when he was defending her.

And he hated that the girl broke down crying so easily with some weak hurtful words.

The girl was _weak_.

And from that moment on, Naruto hated those who were weak.

All because it reminded him of the child that did nothing to help herself or even those who tried to help her.

And with that, was the first meeting between Naruto Uzumaki and the strange _weak_ girl he later learnt to be named Hinata Hyuga.

He had already hated her.

Naruto was a liar.

* * *

 **Part 3 – The Girl who He Watched**

When he next saw the girl, he was generally surprise she was there.

It was at the gathering where new Academy Students were introduced into the system. The girl was shy and did not talk to anyone as well-like himself though the reasons were different.

He didn't because there was no point.

There was nothing stopping _her_ from doing so.

That pained Naruto in that there was someone who could do what they could but chained themselves-there was no other words to describe how closed off that girl was.

It was only later on when he learnt the reason why this was.

Hinata Hyuga-he later learnt her name and what her eyes meant to the village was the Clan Heir to one of the noble and most prestigious clans in Konoha. With numbers over a hundred and with a Bloodline Limit to allow them to be the perfect scout, tracker and guard in one; they were held above most others.

Their eyes from what Naruto learnt in one of the few lessons he bothered to listen to was their Bloodline and was called a Dojutsu.

Naruto found it funny that the Hyuga and Uchiha hated each other because they could not agree to which Dojutsu was better between clans.

But back to the reason why Hinata was so…closed off.

She was the clan heir but was weaker than her younger sister and that younger sister was 5 years _younger_ than her. At the age of 10, Naruto could not believe that a fellow 10 year old no matter if he hated her could lose to someone who was _5_ for god's sake!

That reaffirmed to Naruto that Hinata was _weak_ and he should not associate with her.

Aside from the fact that he had a pretty bad opinion of her to begin with from their first encounter; Hinata showed no reason for Naruto to try and befriend her.

The older Hyuga did not help with his attitude towards her and everyone near her.

You could feel the _hate_ coming from him towards Hinata.

Naruto suddenly felt that he could connect to that boy but decided not to. He knew from one of his outings that the Hyuga clan was not only powerful but also felt the same way as him to the rest of the village.

Apathy.

With a hint of stuck-up and rod stuck in the backside.

Because of that, most Hyugas didn't really associate with others and didn't have many friends at this age along with the fact that their eyes were different. Naruto asked Iruka-sensei, someone who was slowly making his way on Naruto's list of 'Precious People' along with Hokage-jiji, Techi-jiji and Ayame-nee.

But that attitude apparently did not stick to Hinata.

Instead it seemed that the opposite happened with the girl being extra shy, extra submissive and extra shy. All and that order and he was not kidding, she would follow every order, did not question anyone and could barely look at people indirectly.

For some reason he was one the people she couldn't look at.

He didn't know why but it was a good for thing for him.

However he couldn't shrug off the feeling that the girl was watching him when he was not looking. It was this feeling that someone was watching him that made him somewhat tense and it was always there when he moved in crowded streets.

It was one of the reasons why he liked going through less used roads.

However he couldn't do that right now or probably the rest of his life.

For he made a mask.

A mask of happiness, of joy and cheerfulness that made everyone around him sick from all that 'positive energy' that he was giving out and no one was wiser for the fact that this face that he was showing them was fake.

Because of this he manage to somehow make 'friends'.

The lazy one, the chubby one and the dog boys were the ones who he hanged out with.

They were cool and sometimes skipped class with him or help him with one of his pranks.

It almost felt like he wasn't alone in this world.

But he knew that this was a false friendship at least since they became friends with 'Naruto' the being of joys and laughs no matter what not the real him.

The real him watched them all and sighed in relief when they played together for the first time and they came back the next day without anyone leaving.

The real him watched as it was late and their parents and the parents of the other kids picked them up for home while he stood there alone.

The real him was jealous of all of what they had; family while he was alone.

But they didn't know that.

No one did.

He only let his mask slip out when he was training alone and where no other person was to make sure they didn't know how serious he could be.

Naruto didn't like talking.

Because when he talked, he needed to be bright and sunny and he was anything but that. It made him sick that he needed to act like this to be even remotely accepted by others. However with the girl, Hinata he didn't need to talk to her. He didn't like her at all so there was no need to try and talk to her.

Because of that, when Naruto was near Hinata, both isolated from everyone else (When he ran out of food to eat at lunch, had nothing to do with the three 'friends' or just wanted to be alone), he could stay quiet and _not_ talk for once.

It was a nice thing and something he loathed to share with her.

However Hinata didn't question him at all and stayed quiet as well. However in the inside of both children's heads, they were thinking rapidly at each other though their thoughts were strangely similar and opposite at the same time.

'Why do I have to sit here with this _girl_ ' Naruto thought with scorn before remembering the reason why, 'Right, because everyone else _wants_ me to talk and annoy them so they can tell me off or don't want anything to do with me.'

Looking at Hinata's delicate and soft features, Naruto could not help but to snort.

Hinata was _weak_.

There was no way he would even want to be interested in such a person.

Then there was Sakura. Naruto felt the impact of her fists directly on his head many times when he managed to piss her off. At the beginning it was simply to annoy her since she annoyed him (And every guy in the room) shrieking as a fan-girl.

But that fist, that punch was _strong_.

Therefore Naruto concluded that Sakura was strong unlike the weak Hinata.

As the years passed Naruto noticed several things about Hinata aside from the obvious and that she was weak, shy and he didn't want anything to do with her _at all_.

Whenever she was shy she would do this weird pressing action with her fingers while blushing.

She would often look down at the ground even at random moments.

She had a bright smile though that was rare, she giggle at his antics when he tried to 'act' serious and made him feel strange when he did- _he hated that feeling. He didn't want that feeling_.

However there was one thing he noticed above all.

That large coat that covered her features that was the opposite of everyone else hid more than her figure. It hid her bruises, what harm that fell upon her that she hid from the rest of the world.

Naruto sneered at the thought of the injuries; it only highlighted even more of how _weak_ Hinata was.

He could tell unlike most others who did not look, who did no _t care_.

You could see it in how she walked, how she limped even when she tried not to. The Shinobi teachers at the Academy could have-should have been able to tell and they did _nothing_. That made Naruto hate most of the teachers even more than he did.

And then he found out who did this to her.

It was her _family_. Family that he thought should protect and support each other. Family that was the foundation that was denied to him- _to her_. Family that beat her up in the name of training, arrogance for reason to do so whenever they please.

Naruto was not happy to find that out and more so in the details of each time Hinata was sent to the Academy injured.

There was that Hyuga a year above, her cousin who hated her and who Naruto thought he could connect to. That was _never_ going to happen as long as he knew about it. _Nobody_ makes Hinata even more _weak_ than she already was.

Then there were the _esteemed_ Elders that did the same. They had no _pride_ for they felt _glory_ in beating up a child.

And then there was someone he did not expect to be one of _them_.

Her _Father_.

Yes, Naruto could not believe that someone would do that to their own child, their own daughter. Did he not know Hinata was already weak enough? His beatings only made her even weaker.

Every time they did so; Hinata dropped lower in the ranks.

Each time they did so; Hinata sooner run away than face others.

Each time they did so; Hinata became weaker to Naruto Uzumaki.

No matter what pleasure- _pain_ he got from that, Naruto could not deal with it.

And that was _unforgivable,_ to make him hate- _care_ more about her. Naruto wasn't going to let this go, and he was going to make the rest of the village realise that making Hinata Hyuga _weak_ was a bad thing.

It was quite easy to do and plan.

For a clan with the all-seeing-eyes; they were quite lax and blind when someone can infiltrate their own compound! Hah! They are so up themselves that they don't even bother to use their famed Byakugan outside of training and mission outside the village.

Their arrogance was their downfall…and their underwear.

The next day Hinata was _beaten up_ by her family, they found that they no longer had underwear and that most of it was spread around the village in all their glory.

The second time Hinata was _beaten_ , they lost their clothes and had to walk around in their underwear.

The third time Naruto made sure it was biggest one where everyone in that clan save Hinata had blindfolds glue onto them, canes stuck to their hands and their clothes stolen a second time with _certain_ words on them that made the clan mass burn them afterwards.

It was only after that three times that the Hyuga Clan got the message and never again did Naruto know that Hinata was _trained_ before being sent to the Academy.

No they just moved it to the weekends when he couldn't tell since he never even see her outside the Academy.

And while Naruto didn't even proclaim about his pranks to the now largest and most powerful clan in the village, _everyone_ seemed to know it was him who did so. There was no one at all that interacted with Hinata.

The irony was that he didn't as well.

There was no one else that noticed about her injuries.

The irony was that the teachers and most of the Jonin (And Hokage) knew Naruto knew.

And there was no one else stupid enough to try and prank the Hyuga clan.

The irony was that Naruto was probably the _only_ person who will ever manage to do so.

But Naruto did _not_ do this so for Hinata. He _hated_ her. He hated her because she was _weak_. He couldn't deal with her being weaker in his eyes so he did what he believed he could only do.

He made it so whatever was causing her to be weaker to stop.

Naruto Uzumaki continued to hate Hinata Hyuga throughout his Academy Days and watched over her. He was the only one who wanted to protect her from being more _weak_ in his eyes.

Naruto was a liar.

* * *

 **Part 4 – The Boy who did Not Cheat**

After graduating from the Academy in an unorthodox manner (Learning a Kinjutsu and taking down a traitor while saving Iruka-sensei), Naruto Uzumaki did not see or hear about Hinata Hyuga until the Chunin Exams.

Naruto was tempted to test whether she was still _weak_ after all this time.

But he couldn't since his mask did not know Hinata Hyuga. There was a good reason why after the Hyuga Prank incident that none of Naruto's classmates aside Hinata associated him with the event.

There was simply no good reason why he did in their eyes.

Plus it helped that his mask allowed them all to think that the prank was 'awesome' and that he wished he was a part of it. That gave them all reason for them to not suspect him at all aside from the one or two strange looks he got from certain people from when did.

His mask ignored Hinata Hyuga for the most part of their Academy Days.

His mask had a crush on Sakura Haruna.

His mask did not watch over Hinata Hyuga.

Yep, there was no good reason why Naruto would even know about Hinata unless someone reminded him of her presence that everyone else decided to ignore.

And it was just his luck that in the first test that had to be a _written_ test that he was seated next to Hinata Hyuga.

His stomach stirred at the thought, at the fact they were sitting next to each other.

There was bloody over a hundred that he could've been seated next to and it had to be _her_ that he was next to; where he could see her fall under the strain of the exams in a front-row seat and hate- _worry_ her even more.

Hinata was placed in the same team as Kiba and Shino. The former he knew well enough even if Naruto was annoyed with his whole 'alpha-male' act while the later was as isolated as Hinata though he didn't watch over him at all.

Shino Aburame had a lower presence than _Hinata_ and that was showing something.

At his first look at her in _months_ , Naruto could immediately tell that she had a lot of training done and didn't seem as _weak_ as before. Unlike his own team, she seemed to have gotten a proper teacher.

Naruto had to read up on scrolls about what a Genin should know in the library.

He _hated_ reading and therefore _hated_ the Library.

And he hated Kakashi-sensei for making him resort to do so to keep up with training.

He hated- _glad_ that Hinata got a better teacher.

From what he could tell with Hinata's relationship with her team-mates, she hasn't changed at all. Kiba was running the show due to his loud mouth while both Hinata and Shino were the quiet types.

It was the opposite of his team.

Naruto was sure that Hinata's Sensei was a lot more reliable than Kakashi-sensei who only lazed around not teaching them anything while pratting around 'teamwork' before individual needs.

Naruto was sure that Kiba did not hit Hinata whenever she tries to comment though he wasn't sure that he didn't outright ignore her sometimes. Naruto would need to check on that later on. He didn't want his hatred of Hinata Hyuga to rise even more because of the mutt and his big mouth.

He growled at the recent memory pretending that he was doing so at the test paper. Naruto had no time to deal with such insignificant things when his _hatred_ of Hinata Hyuga was concern.

It was then he heard a whisper to the right where Hinata was.

'Naruto-kun…you can copy mine.'

The stirring of the inside of his stomach came about even harder than before.

 _Surely_ she wasn't talking to _him_. She didn't even talk to him when the 'Rookie 9' met each other in the venue of the exams. She just looked away which was fine- _hurt_ to Naruto.

Naruto looked around to see if there was anyone else called 'Naruto-kun' out there since he was sure she wasn't talking to him. But that may just look as if he was checking if anyone was watching him which was _way_ to obvious for him to do…not that any would believe he was _that_ stupid.

'I don't want you to disappear from here…'

Disappear?

What the hell did she mean? Did she imply that he wasn't _good_ enough to even get through this part of the test?!

That he was as WEAK- _kind_ as her?!

No, he wouldn't copy from her. That may as well be the reason for this part of the test but Naruto Uzumaki refused to rely on Hinata Hyuga to get through this test even if he means he'll fail his team.

But at the same time he needed to respond to her…to _talk_ to her.

Why was he nervous about this? He just needed to whisper a reply to the girl about why he needn't not to copy and thus cheat off of her.

Why was it so difficult for him to speak to her?

He had been… _years_ since that day when they met, when he said his first words to her and heard her first stutters to him.

Naruto frowned feeling strange towards Hinata and shrugged it off thinking that it had to do with her being weak and him hating her.

But the Mask could not just shrug her words off and _not_ say anything to her. It would not be what the cheerful, kind and hyperactive person Naruto had created would do. Therefore he could only grit his teeth as much as possible to not stutter at all while whispering to Hinata.

She started to push her paper while covering it closer to him before he stopped her.

'Hinata, you don't understand' he whispered to her. So _this_ is what it feels like to talk to her. Naruto was sure it would be an impossible task for him right now with all the hatred- _care_ he had for her.

'An incredible ninja like me doesn't need to cheat. And you don't need to help me'

'But Naruto-kun…' Hinata protested in a whisper looking straight at him. Naruto froze looking at her eyes. Her clear eyes that looked like pearls. Those eyes that seemed to brighten from what he remembered.

He cut of off before he found himself completely memorise in her eyes.

 _Those_ eyes was what started it all. What was essentially the start of Naruto meeting Hinata, and because of that he hated it.

But right now he needed a good enough excuse for the Mask to tell Hinata.

'If you help me cheat you'll get in trouble as well. I don't want to get in trouble because of you' he reasoned which was enough for Hinata to turn back to her paper with a sad look that satisfied- _pained_ him and allow Naruto to not see her eyes again. He could not risk that again.

But then there was the problem of the test again now that he thought about it.

He still did not have a way to cheat some answers from anyone _other_ than Hinata. He will _not_ rely on her for this test. He will not take her _pity_!

Sakura was fine in that she had her brain.

Months with her were some of the toughest since he was supposed to have a crush on her and her fists hurt a lot. But he also found out a lot of other things about her as well.

She wasn't really that strong as he thought, it was disappointing.

She freezes in life and death battle and barely contributes to it.

And most importantly he could not tell whether she actually gotten stronger since she graduated unlike Hinata next to him.

Sasuke on the other hand he wasn't so sure of but he had that Sharingan and was gloating all about it for months now so Naruto figured that he had this test up and done by now as well.

Naruto really hoped Sasuke was smart enough to use that Sharingan to copy someone's hand movements for answers.

If not, he would really need to reconsider his relationship with the boy. They had a mutual agreement that they both needed power and to get stronger and both had difficult goals in their lives.

Sasuke's was apparently to kill his brother who managed to kill the rest of his clan in a single night at _their_ age.

Naruto's was simply to be free. After Wave, Naruto realised how… _suffocating_ Konoha was with the glares and with the continued isolation from people no matter what. There were a careful few he wasn't from but other people continue to try and _persuade_ them to leave me be.

It was after all for _their_ own benefit they didn't associate with the _Demon Brat_.

And by the time the Tenth question of this part of the Chunin Exams was up, Naruto had a choice to make that would decide not only the fate of himself but also his team-mates.

Naruto was sure that this was a hoax and there was nothing about it.

The Mask he wore however did not and thus he needed to pretend he was deciding the fate of his future. He looked back in a glance to see Sasuke and Sakura-what the hell was that girl thinking?!

Years of being isolated made Naruto pretty good at several things. Stealth was one thing, pranks were another but Naruto was also good at reading people. How did people think he could get away from so many people if he couldn't tell what they were generally thinking?

Damn he needed a way to get through this _without_ Sakura screwing things up.

But it might be good for them to fail, for Sakura to grow up a bit at least.

Then then he saw Hinata do the same thing as Sakura.

 _NO!_

Naruto would never let Hinata become _weak_ if he could. All that time and that damn girl was already proving him wrong in that she had gotten stronger. He thought back at when her own family _beat_ her.

What would they do knowing she abandoned herself in the first stage of the exams?

He wouldn't let _them_ do that to her. Only he held the right on what punishment Hinata Hyuga would get for being _weak_. Not that he wanted to, he didn't even want to associate with her!

Therefore Naruto made the manly speech of not giving up at all and not only managed to get Sakura to not do something stupid like give up but also everyone else in the room it seems.

Naruto saw Hinata give him a surprised but prideful look for some reason as well.

He really hated that he had to do this in order to pass this part of the exams. Why should he support others when he was fine alone?

Looking to his right, he saw the girl that started it all and gritted his teeth since it was _her_ fault that there were so many people passing this part of the Chunin Exams.

And at that point Naruto Uzumaki reaffirmed that he hated Hinata Hyuga. He was forced to prevent her from being _weak_. All that time and she hadn't changed at all. That feeling in his gut was a sure-tell sign that he still hated her.

Naruto was a liar.

* * *

 **Part 5 – The Boy who Protected**

Naruto Uzumaki was surprised to see her team pass the second part of the Chunin Exams.

Even more so when she didn't immediately back away from having to fight another person in a one-on-one fight in front of everyone including the Hokage. For such a _weak_ person, she was surprisingly good at hiding it.

From what he could find out from Kakashi-senesi, his own had to face Orchimaru. _That_ Orchimaru, S-rank missing-nin known for experimenting on people and was a _stupidly_ strong veteran in the Second Shinobi War.

Yeah he was surprised as the next person that he just didn't kill them all.

Apparently the snake freak wanted something from Sasuke and gave him power.

Paedophile much? Giving little boys things that they want to lure them him for him to capture and do what he wants to them. Naruto also pitied Sasuke for being the target for such a man if not for knowing what kind of _valuable_ power he was given.

But back to the Chunin Exams.

There were a total of 6 teams that passed the second part of the Chunin Exams. Surprisingly the 'Rookie 9' got through. Gai's Team did as well, Kabuto's Team got through since he helped them out to the Tower and the Suna team with the weird red-head that was giving him strange looks once in a while.

But then there was the Sound Team.

They had literally lost their scroll to his Team mid-way in the exams. That meant that they had to quickly take down at least one team, may more than that and more than two teams _with_ an injured team-mate in order to pass this part of the exams.

And they barely made it through as well.

Everyone in the exams at this point was injured or exhausted in one manner or another. Well except for the Suna team for some reason, they must have some method to not get even a bloody scratch on them from their time in the desert to get through the Forest of Death so easily.

Naruto was sure he wanted to know the secret to it.

Too bad that the Suna Team seemed hostile to everyone…well that red-head at least. It was like having a kill-starved Sasuke on the team all the time. That was something he didn't want even his worse enemies to deal with.

Not even Hinata.

The poor girl would probably die sooner than later with such a person as her team-mate. In that, she was fortunate that her team-mates actually cared a good deal about her. Looking at her, Naruto saw what he was once again denied.

Your team was family.

His wasn't.

Simply as that. Sasuke couldn't care two shits about them despite having mutual respect for each other. Sakura only saw Sasuke and nothing else to the point she couldn't even tell she was in a life or death situation-well the time in the Forest helped a lot on that part.

Kakashi-sensei was stupidly lazy and it took a good deal of work for him to even bother to train them!

What was the point of the man if he didn't teach!

Naruto for many times considered to just resign for the team and take his chances elsewhere. But Naruto was also sure that almost none of the other teams and teachers would take him in.

Host and vessel of the Kyubi of course.

Eventually one by one, the Genin in the rather large hall room fought each other and eliminated each other from getting into the finals.

Naruto himself had a pretty difficult time against Kiba showing that his Sensei actually trained him properly. It was surprising that even though Naruto had more life and death battles under his belt than Kiba, he still managed to pull out a win by intentionally farting in Kiba's face.

There are no rules for a Ninja to follow in battle.

Every underhanded tactic was to be used to bring only one thing. Victory.

And Naruto was glad that he was good at controlling his Mask that he didn't even react to growl at Hinata when she offered him something to rub on his wounds.

His stomach stirred like the time he realised they needed to sit next to each other in the First Stage of the Chunin Exams.

Did she think so little of him?

He healed _fast_! He didn't need whatever it was she was giving him! Did she consider it under- _kind_ her to even let him heal on his own?

But in the end the Mask took whatever medicine she gave him and he hoped it was not poisoned and rubbed it in his wounds. Naruto was as surprised as everyone that his wounds actually managed to heal _faster_ than before.

Normal Medicine didn't help him heal at _all_. It was not as effective as his natural healing at any rate so Naruto never experienced _any_ kind of medicine that could amplify his healing even more.

He was speechless but fortunately the mask spoke and thanked Hinata…as much it gritted his insides to do so. It was a strange feeling for Naruto, but he just committed that it had something to do with his dislike with the girl.

No matter what he did, he seemed to not be able to get rid of her.

The first chance he got, he would take it to forget about her. There was nothing at all that was keeping him from watching her and nothing to keep him from not.

Naruto watched as she then dropped down to give the same medicine to Kiba as well…and at that moment the next fight was for Hinata Hyuga to face Neji Hyuga. Two conflicting emotions spun up at that moment.

One was of joy that Neji finally had his match to prove himself in front of everyone.

One was of…something for Hinata about something he couldn't understand.

The face he made was covered by the fact that the Mask showed that it didn't know what the big deal between the two fighting. However Naruto knew what the significance was, Main and Branch, master and slave; two sides of the Hyuga clan.

Ironically enough Hinata was technically Neji's master so she could just force him to surrender. She had the tools to do so.

But she didn't,

She tried to surrender with the prompting of her team-mates and with the words of Neji. Now that he thought about it, Neji declaring everything about fate was really annoying.

Naruto sneered, they _dare_ try to avoid this fight? Cowards. Naruto moved the Mask and 'encouraged' Hinata to fighting.

But he had to do so soon, just as Neji started to say, "You cannot avoid your-"

"YOU CAN!" Naruto shouted, "STOP DECIDING ABOUT PEOPLE! IDIOT! KICK HIS ASS HINATA! DON'T YOU DARE SURRENDER HERE RIGHT NOW!"

He got some strange looks but Hinata was in the game right now to prove herself. Naruto felt some amusement that it was _him_ of all people that could move her to facing her fears.

And then Naruto frowned at that thought. _Why_ did he encourage Hinata to fight?

The fight went on quickly to show who was superior.

Hinata was outclassed.

Not only outclassed but was outclassed badly against Neji to the point even Sasuke would not be able to keep up.

Looking at Gai and Lee and what kinds of training, they and their team may have to deal with, it was no surprise that Neji was faster and more powerful than Hinata.

And then Hinata was about to surrender again.

No, this can't be helped.

But then she spoke on the edge with her body shaking with pain and blood out of her mouth.

"I…don't…go back…on my…words…that is also my ninja way" she declared in front of everything. That Nindo, those words that he spoke and yet did not fill himself with; that _lie_ that he made to encourage himself…

She took it and made it her own.

Naruto was conflicted again with this.

On one hand he should hate Hinata more because he took something from him.

But…

 _Why_? Why would she take it? For what reason would she find value in watching him and taking his own Nindo as her own?

 _Why_ was she watching him in the first place? He had his reasons, she didn't.

In the mist of thinking as a result, Naruto looked at Neji and knew one thing. He was going to kill Hinata. He was _about_ to kill Hinata.

 _No…_

 _NO!_

Even if there was a seal placed on him preventing the Kyubi's Chakra to burst out, Naruto's own Chakra was massive and surpassed everyone else's in the room.

Muscles tore and his limbs ached in the split second that it took him, faster than even the Jonins to grab onto Neji's arm and _crush_ it. He could feel the cracks in the finger and felt satisfaction in the fact.

And then he noticed people around him, around them both restraining each other. However he ignored them.

He didn't have anything to do with _them_ at least for now.

He…just had a few words for Neji.

Eyes flashing not red but not blue; Naruto's eyes turned violet and turned into slits. However no one at least outwardly flinched at it and neither did Neji who just looked unimpressed.

"Why do you protect that trash of an heir?" he asked.

Naruto snarled and responded in kind, "Why do you wish to kill a _weak_ person?"

However Neji did not respond. So Naruto had.

"Hinata is under _my_ protection you know" Naruto stated, there was no need for a Mask to use here. Naruto Uzumaki _never_ lies to himself when it comes to Hinata Hyuga.

No one else talked, everyone listened in for what reason did Naruto Uzumaki have to protect Hinata Hyuga.

"I hate the weak. Because of Hinata Hyuga I _despise_ them. I hate everything about Hinata Hyuga. I hate the weak because Hinata Hyuga is _weak_ and _no one_ will ever touch her. She is _mine_! Mine to deal with. And her fear towards you made her _weaker_! Know _that_ is the reason why I will kick your ass!"

Naruto heard someone, probably Hinata collapsed behind him. He didn't care, he shouldn't care.

She was _weak_.

Naruto Uzumaki would never lie to himself that he _hated_ Hinata Hyuga at that moment. Making him want to care for her and drag him down on _her_ level as well.

Naruto Uzumaki would never lie to himself that he felt nothing towards Hinata Hyuga aside from hate.

Naruto Uzumaki would never lie to himself that he was not worried for Hinata Hyuga when she faced against her fears in Neji.

Naruto Uzumaki would never lie to himself that he trained himself only to face down Neji Hyuga and beat him.

Naruto Uzumaki would never lie to himself that Hinata Hyuga encouraging him before his match did not allow him to win.

Naruto was a liar, and continued to lie towards himself and anyone else from then on about what he felt towards Hinata.

* * *

 **Part 6 – The Awakening**

It took Hinata Hyuga 2 days for her to awaken once again from her injuries against Pein.

In that 2 days, Naruto Uzumaki never left her side and no one commented that he stayed by her side no matter what, feigning eating, drinking and even sleep to continue and stare as if in a trance.

For most, who took his words as face value, Naruto Uzumaki hated Hinata Hyuga. That was what he said.

For those who saw underneath the underneath, Naruto Uzumaki cared for Hinata Hyuga more than anyone else. The ending fight with Pein was only more proof.

The seal on a Jinchuriki had two stages. The first stage was when the Jinchuriki didn't even have access to the active powers of their Buji. This kept the Jinchuriki completely safe from the Buji with little to no risk for it to escape.

To describe the seal at that stage would be a steel door with chains and locks preventing anything from getting through.

The second stage was when the Jinchuriki would actively use the power of the Buji sealed within them. The seal at that point slowly deteriorates with time or use that the once impenetrable door is left weaken and half broken.

It is only through the will of the Jinchuriki that keeps that door locked.

And Hinata's supposed death caused that door that kept the Kyubi inside of him to almost burst forth.

And that frightened Naruto more than anything else.

That this girl…no _woman_ in front of him had that much control over him, that much control over his emotions, his rage and everything that came with it and caused it.

The fact that Hinata could… _love_ him caused his stomach to stir quite a lot.

His stomach stirred when he sat next to her years ago in their first Chunin Exams and offered help.

His stomach stirred when she gave him medicine in hopes that his wounds would heal faster.

That was the same feeling that he was having right now. Was he wrong about what he felt about Hinata back then? He did not know, it had been too long and he only had vague feelings from some parts at best.

And now with his emotions and what he knew about them were in conflict, all while Naruto waited for her to wake up.

For him to ask _why_ she protected him.

For him to ask _why_ she would willingly die for someone like him.

Naruto did not know, in his entire life he knew many reasons why someone would do something like that but nothing on the reasons why Hinata Hyuga would do so for him. It frightened him for some reason if the reason why she did had nothing to do with him.

' _Love breeds sacrifice…which breeds hate…then you can feel pain.'_

Those words ran true for Naruto.

The cycle of hate was born from love; to never let go of love and thus to never let go of hate and the pain that comes with it.

However even now, even when Naruto knew he needed to let go of Hinata, he could not. He could not even leave her right now, his body refused to move, refused to acknowledge that she would not awaken.

Yes, it took Hinata Hyuga 2 whole days to awaken and Naruto was the first thing she saw and he was the first one to see her.

"Naruto…-kun?" she asked confused. Why wouldn't she be confused? Here was a guy who believed he had hated her for so long.

A guy who admitted that he hated her and everything about her in front of her…even if she was about to pass out anyway.

And the first thing he did was to scream at her, his mask of being a bright idiot was long destroyed now thanks to her.

"What in the HELL were YOU thinking?!" Naruto shouted, "Did you NOT see that Pein _destroyed_ everything in Konoha single-handedly? Fighting him was a _death_ sentence! What in the HELL were you thinking coming out to fight him…ALONE!"

Naruto tried to calm down, calm his emotions but 2 days of waiting strained every bit of patient he had with himself.

"I…I…" Hinata eventually got the words out, "I…saw you fighting alone" she started to tear out, "I saw you about to be captured. I saw the you that was so strong and powerful out there about to lose…and…someone even as weak as me knew how to help you."

The next words gave him more chills than he ever admitted.

"Even if it means dying for you."

 _No…_

No, he wouldn't let that happen. Not again, _never_ again.

Naruto grabbed onto Hinata's hand like he usually did in the last 2 days, her grip was so weak right now but even so, she managed to somehow comfort him as he hugged it between his hands.

"I…really hate you you know" Naruto replied slowly not daring to look at her right now. His face was downcasted and his hair covered his eyes that was betraying his emotions.

"I really hate…how you nearly died for me, how you would sacrifice yourself for me."

"I really hate…how your weakness always makes me want to protect you."

"I really hate…how you were always kind to everyone-even me no matter what."

"I really hate…how your eyes are so pretty and how that distracts me so much."

"I really hate…that you are so weak, how you could so easily die out there."

"I really hate…how I now know that you love me…and how it makes me hate myself for wanting to be with you."

Daring to look up at her, Naruto Uzumaki did not see the face the rejection but one of acceptance, he did not see the eyes of fear but one of love.

"I…understand Naruto-kun" Hinata cooed softly, "I…love you a lot you know."

Naruto let out a soft laugh that was far too gentle for someone like him to have and nearly started to cry for some reason. Why was he crying? He wasn't sad…

"I really hate you for this you know…" I repeated himself though awkwardly smiling truly for the first time in years, "I will really hate Hinata Hyuga for the rest of my life at this rate."

"I know" Hinata regaining some strength pulled her other hand and cupped the side of his cheek, "And everyone will know that I will always love Naruto Uzumaki for the rest of my life with you by my side."

"Because I will always know that you will lie about how you feel about me."

"No" Naruto shook his head still crying, "Because I want to love Hinata Uzumaki for the rest of our lives."

 **Story End.**

* * *

 **OMAKE: Outside the Tent**

"So…who won the bet?" asked Kiba though keeping quiet in order to not disturb the couple for once. This was a long time coming that _all_ of them who gathered here today was waiting her.

Not only was the 'Konoha 11' was here but also their Jonin Teachers, their Academy Teachers and even their former Academy classmates; at least those who survived through the years. It was no secret that both Naruto and Hinata held feelings for each other to them.

It was just that none of them including the parties involved spoke of it.

Everyone knew that Hinata Hyuga admired Naruto Uzumaki more than anyone else to the point she took on his Nindo and just recently she proved it to be more than that and was love when she sacrificed herself for him.

Everyone knew that Naruto Uzumaki cared for Hinata Hyuga more than anyone else to the point he would lie to everyone and himself that he hated her. He just prove everyone right in their opinion when he went berserk with the Kyubi's power when he saw her slain in front of him.

Even Sakura commented that it was the first time she had ever seen Naruto in that state and she saw him go 4-tails against Orchimaru for Sasuke.

No, Naruto whether he liked it or not would though willingly or not care for Hinata to the point it was mutual love between them.

It was just that one side believe he hated the other while the other was way too shy to admit it.

The Academy Teachers knew that it was Naruto that pranked the Hyugas when they went overboard with their 'training' with Hinata to the point they stopped.

The Academy Students knew that outside of being generally loud, the only person he didn't talk to or tried to talk to was Hinata though he often sat with her.

The Jonin Teachers knew to what extent that Naruto would go to protect her, that was clear when Neji threatened her life.

The 'Konoha 11' knew that Naruto often watched Hinata and kept an eye on her whether he knew it or not.

And at the same time ever since Naruto had stopped Neji from killing Hinata that one time, a bet pool was made.

Who would confess their feelings to the other first?

The Protector who lies to himself about his feelings about her?

Or the Heiress that cannot bring herself enough courage to confess to him?

"Troublesome" Shikimaru sighed, "It was Hinata who said it outright that she loved him."

"But what about Naruto's whole speech on how he 'hated' her?" Ino contested, " _Everyone_ knows that Naruto was lying through all of that."

"The terms of the bet are clear" Sakura was happy that Naruto and Hinata knew what the other felt to each other at last...and Naruto doesn't need to fake ask her out all the time, "The first one to confess. Define confession."

Several people groaned since this was going to take a while. Hinata's actions outright could be interpreted into a confession since she willingly would die for Naruto.

On the other hand Naruto's 2 days of not moving from Hinata's side could as well.

Neither of them said anything but their actions spoke louder than words.

And then there was Naruto's whole confession on how he 'hated' her while clearly saying the opposite on why he loved her!

Not to mention how Hinata confessed her love in words first before Naruto pulled the big guns and said he wanted to love 'Hinata Uzumaki'.

"Naruto's last words were more like a proposal" Kakashi added making everyone else break into mutters while flipping through his Icha Icha, "Well if no one wants to admit who confessed first then shall we make a new bet?"

"A new bet?" Shino said, "Why? Because the content of our original bet consisted on too vague terms and we cannot correctly agree to the outcome of the bet. Why? A new bet would allow us to start over and give us time. I propose that we inquire about a bet with contents of when Hinata joins the household of Uzumaki. Why? Because Konoha is currently in the need of monetary value to recover from the attack."

"So…" Kiba started, "When Hinata and Naruto get married? Since no one will like how the end of this bet will end and Konoha needs the money more than on a bet?"

"Yes I have clearly said that" Shino said making everyone there sweat-drop.

Sakura was the first to recover and nudged Shikimaru since he was the keeper of the bet.

"Troublesome" Shikimaru sighed, "Everyone decide a deadline to when they will get married from this moment on. The closest to deadline will win the bot with the amount we betted before."

"I bet in 6 months" Sakura said immediately.

"4 months" Ino glared at her friend/rival.

"2 Years" Kakashi betted.

And then a series of people loudly betted at what time Naruto and Hinata would get married, ignoring the fact that they were currently standing in front of the tent to which both of them were in.

And the couple heard everything including about the bet and bet to be.

In a single motion that froze everyone, Naruto Uzumaki (Genin, Jinchuriki, Sage, Hero) stepped out in Sage Mode with a pissed look on his face…and noticeably Rasengans flaring in both his hands.

"Care to tell me why you were betting on my relationship with Hinata?" he growled blushing red as everyone gulped at the same time.


End file.
